Aristeides, the son of Lysimachus, was of the tribe Antiochis, and the
township of Alopekæ. There are various reports current about his
property, some saying that he lived in poverty, and that on his death
he left two daughters, who remained a long while unmarried because of
their poverty; while this general opinion is contradicted by Demetrius
of Phalerum in his book on Sokrates, where he mentions an estate at
Phalerum which he knew had belonged to Aristeides, in which he was
buried, and also adduces other grounds for supposing him to have been
a wealthy man. First, he points out that Aristeides was Archon
Eponymus, an office for which men were chosen by lot from the richest
class, that of the Pentakosiomedimni, or citizens who possessed a
yearly income of five hundred _medimni_[17] of dry or liquid produce.
Secondly, he mentions the fact that he was ostracised: now, ostracism
never was used against poor men, but against those who descended from
great and wealthy houses, and whose pride made them feared and
disliked by their fellow citizens. Thirdly, and lastly, he writes that
Aristeides placed in the temple of Dionysus tripods dedicated to the
god by a victorious chorus, which even in my own time are still to be
seen, and which bear the inscription: "The tribe Antiochis won the
prize; Aristeides was choragus; Archestratus taught the chorus." Now
this, which seems to be the strongest argument of all, is really the
weakest. Epameinondas, whom all men know to have been born and to have
passed his life in the greatest possible poverty, and Plato the
philosopher, both exhibited excellent choruses, the former bearing the
expense of a chorus of men playing on the flute, while the latter
exhibited a _cyclic_[18] chorus of boys. Plato's expenses were borne
by Dionysius of Syracuse, and those of Epameinondas by Pelopidas and
his friends. Good men do not always refuse to receive presents from
their friends, but, though they would scorn to make money by them,
they willingly receive them to further an honourable ambition.
Panætius, moreover, proves that Demetrius is wrong in the matter of
the tripods, because from the time of the Persian war to the end of
the Peloponnesian war there are only two Aristeides recorded as
victors, neither of whom can be identified with the son of Lysimachus,
as the father of one of them was Xenophilus, and the other was a much
more modern personage, as is proved by his name being written in the
characters which came into use after the archonship of Eukleides, and
from the name of the poet or teacher of the chorus, Archestratus,
whose name we never meet with in the time of the Persian war, but who
taught several choruses (that is, wrote several successful plays)
during the Peloponnesian war. These remarks of Panætius must, however,
be received with caution. As to ostracism, any man of unusual talent,
nobility of birth, or remarkable eloquence, was liable to suffer from
it, for Damon, the tutor of Perikles, was ostracised, because he was
thought to be a man of superior intellect. Idomeneus tells us that
Aristeides obtained the office of archon, not by lot, but by the
universal voice of the people. Now, if he was archon after the battle
of Platæa, as Demetrius himself admits, it is highly probable that his
great reputation after such glorious successes may have obtained for
him an office usually reserved for men of wealth. Indeed, Demetrius
evidently tries to redeem both Aristeides and Sokrates from the
reproach of poverty, as though he imagined it to be a great
misfortune, for he tells us that Sokrates not only possessed a house,
but also seventy minæ which were borrowed by Krito.
II. Aristeides became much attached to Kleisthenes, who established
the democratic government after the expulsion of the sons of
Peisistratus; but his reverence and admiration for Lykurgus the
Lacedæmonian led him to prefer an aristocratic form of government, in
which he always met with an opponent in Themistokles, the son of
Neokles, the champion of democracy. Some say that even as children
they always took opposite sides, both in play and in serious matters,
and so betrayed their several dispositions: Themistokles being
unscrupulous, daring, and careless by what means he obtained success,
while the character of Aristeides was solid and just, incapable of
deceit or artifice even in sport. Ariston of Keos tells us that their
hatred of one another arose from a love affair. Stesilaus of Keos, the
most beautiful youth of his time, was passionately adored by both of
them with an affection which passed all bounds. Nor did they cease
their rivalry when this boy's youthful bloom had passed away, but, as
if this had merely been a preliminary trial, they each plunged into
politics with great vigour and with utterly different views.
Themistokles obtained a large following, and thus became an important
power in the state, so that, when some one said to him that he would
make a very good governor of Athens, provided he were just and
impartial with all, he answered, "Never may I bear rule if my friends
are to reap no more benefit from it than any one else."
Aristeides, on the other hand, pursued his way through political life
unattended, because, in the first place, he neither wished to do wrong
in order to please his friends, nor to vex them by refusing to gratify
their wishes; and also because he observed that many men when they
were supported by a strong party of friends were led into the
commission of wrong and illegal acts. He, therefore, conceived that a
good citizen ought to trust entirely to his own rectitude, both in
word and in deed.
III. In spite of this, however, when Themistokles was using every kind
of political manœuvre to thwart him, he was forced to retaliate by
similar measures, partly in order to defend himself, and partly to
check the power of his opponent, which depended on the favour shown
him by the people. He thought it better that he should occasionally do
the people some slight wrong than that Themistokles should obtain
unlimited power. At last, when Themistokles even proposed some useful
measure, he opposed it and threw it out. On this occasion he could not
refrain from saying, as he left the public assembly, that the
Athenians could not be saved unless they threw both himself and
Themistokles into the _barathrum_.[19] Another time he brought forward
a bill, which was vehemently debated upon, but was at length carried.
But just before the votes of the people were given, he, perceiving
from what had been said that it would prove a bad law, withdrew it.
Frequently he made use of other persons to bring forward propositions,
lest the public should suffer from the contest which would otherwise
take place between Themistokles and himself. Indeed, his evenness of
temper was the more remarkable when contrasted with the changefulness
of other politicians, for he was never unduly excited by the honours
which were bestowed upon him, and bore misfortune with a quiet
cheerfulness, thinking it to be his duty to serve his country, not
merely without being paid for it in money, but without even gaining
honour for so doing. This was the reason, I suppose, that when
Æschylus's verses on Amphiaraus wore being recited in the theatre;
"Not just to seem, but just he loves to be;
And deep he ploughs his noble mind with thought,
To reap a harvest thence of great designs,"
all men turned and looked towards Aristeides, thinking that he came
nearest to this ideal virtue.
IV. He stood up vigorously for justice, not merely when it was his
interest and that of his friends, but when it was in favour of his
enemies and contrary to his own personal feelings to do so. It is said
that once when arguing a cause against one of his enemies in a court
of law, the judges refused to hear the other party speak in his own
defence, after listening to the speech of Aristeides, but were about
to condemn him unheard. At this Aristeides came forward and vigorously
supported his antagonist's claim to be allowed his legal right of
reply. Again, when acting as arbitrator between two persons, one of
them said that his adversary had done much wrong to Aristeides. "My
good man," said he, "do not tell me of this, but tell me whether he
has wronged you or not, for I am judging your cause, not my own."
When elected to administer the revenues of the state he proved that
not only his own colleagues, but those who had previously held office,
had embezzled large sums, especially Themistokles,
"A clever man, but with an itching palm."
For this cause Themistokles, when Aristeides' accounts were audited,
prosecuted him on a charge of malversation, and, according to
Idomeneus, obtained a verdict.
However, the better class of citizens being grieved at this, not only
remitted the fine, but at once elected him to the same office. He now
pretended to regret his former rigour, and was much more remiss in
performing his duties, which rendered him very popular with those who
were in the habit of embezzling the public money, so that they were
loud in his praise, and canvassed the people on his behalf, trusting
that he might be re-elected archon. But when the voting was about to
begin, he rose and rebuked the Athenians. "When," he said, "I did you
true and honourable service, I was disgraced by you; now, when I have
permitted much of the public money to be stolen, I am thought to be an
excellent citizen. But I myself am more ashamed of the honour which
you now pay me, than I am of my former conviction, and I am sorry for
you, because among you it is esteemed more honourable to abet
evil-doers than to guard the national property."
By speaking thus and exposing the peculation which was being
practised, he closed the mouths of all those who were so loudly
commending him as an honest man, but gained the applause of all true
and honourable men.
V. When Datis was sent by Darius, nominally to punish the Athenians
for the burning of Sardis, but really to enslave the whole of Greece,
he landed at Marathon, and commenced laying waste the country. Of the
ten generals appointed by the Athenians for the conduct of the war,
Miltiades had the highest reputation, while Aristeides held the
second place. He used his influence in the council of war to support
the proposition of Miltiades to fight the enemy at once, and also, as
each general had sole command for one day, when his day came round, he
gave it to Miltiades, thus teaching his colleagues that obedience to
those who know how to command is not any disgrace, but a noble and
useful act. By this means he was enabled to put an end to the
rivalries between the generals, and to strengthen Miltiades by
concentrating in him the power which had before been passed from hand
to hand. In the battle the Athenian centre was hard pressed, as the
Persians resisted longest in that part of their line which was opposed
to the tribes Leontis and Antiochis. Here Themistokles and Aristeides
each showed conspicuous valour, fighting side by side, for the former
was of the tribe Leontis, the latter of the tribe Antiochis. After the
victory was won, and the Persians forced into their ships, they were
observed not to sail towards the Archipelago, but to be proceeding in
the direction of Athens. Fearing that they might catch the city
defenceless, the Athenians determined to hurry back with nine tribes
to protect it, and they accomplished their march in one day.
Aristeides, with his own tribe, was left to guard the prisoners and
the plunder, and well maintained his reputation. Although gold and
silver was lying about in heaps, with all kinds of rich tapestry and
other countless treasures, he would neither touch them himself nor
allow the others to do so, though some helped themselves without his
knowledge. Among these was Kallias, the torch-bearer in the Eleusinian
mysteries. One of the prisoners, taking him for a king because of his
long hair and fillet, fell on his knees before him, and having
received his hand as a pledge for his safety pointed out to him a
great store of gold concealed in a pit. Kallias now acted most cruelly
and wickedly. He took the gold, and killed the poor man for fear that
he should tell it to the others. It is said that ever afterwards the
descendants of Kallias were jeered at by the comic poets, as being of
the family of the man who found the gold in the pit.
Immediately after those events, Aristeides was chosen as Archon
Eponymus, that is, the archon who gives his name to the year.
Demetrius of Phalerum says that he filled this office shortly before
his death, and after the battle of Platæa. But in the public records
of Athens one cannot find any archon of the name of Aristeides among
the many who filled the office after Xanthippides, in whose archonship
Mardonius was defeated at Platæa, whereas the name of Aristeides does
occur next to that of Phanippus, in whose archonship the victory at
Marathon was won.
VI. Of all the virtues of Aristeides his justice was that which
chiefly commended itself to the people, being that which is of most
value in ordinary life. Hence it was that he, although a poor man of
mean birth, yet gained for himself the truly imperial title of the
Just; a title which has never been emulated by kings and despots, who
delight in being called the City-taker, the Thunderbolt, or the
Victorious, while some are known as the Eagle or the Hawk, because
apparently they prefer strength and lawless violence to justice and
goodness. Yet for all this, the gods, to whom they so presumptuously
liken themselves, excel mankind chiefly in three attributes, namely in
immortality, in power, and in goodness, whereof goodness is by far the
most glorious and divine quality. Mere empty space, and all the
elements possess immortality, while earthquakes, thunderbolts, violent
winds and rushing waters have great power, but justice and equity
belong to the gods alone, because of the reason and intelligence which
they possess. Now most men regard the gods with admiration, with fear,
and with reverence; with admiration, because they are eternal and
unchangeable; with fear, because of their power and dominion, with
reverence and love because of their justice. Yet men covet
immortality, which no flesh can attain to; and also power, which
depends mostly upon fortune; while they disregard virtue, the only
godlike attribute which it is in our power to obtain; not reflecting
that when a man is in a position of great power and authority he will
appear like a god if he acts justly, and like a wild beast if he does
not.
VII. The character of Aristeides for justice at first made him beloved
by the people, but afterwards it gained him their ill-will, chiefly
because Themistokles circulated reports that Aristeides had
practically closed the public courts of justice by the fact of all
cases being referred to him as arbitrator, and that he was virtually
king of Athens, although he had not yet surrounded himself with a
body-guard. By this time too the common people, elated with their
victory at Marathon, and thinking themselves capable of the greatest
exploits, were ill pleased at any private citizen being exalted above
the rest by his character and virtues. They flocked into the city from
all parts of the country and ostracised Aristeides, veiling their envy
of his glory under the pretence that they feared he would make himself
king. This custom of ostracism was not intended as a punishment for
crime, but was called, in order to give it a plausible title, a check
to excessive power. In reality, it was nothing more than a
safety-valve, providing a vent for the dislike felt by the people for
those whose greatness offended them. It did no irreparable injury to
those who fell under its operation, but only banished them for a space
of ten years. In later times mean and contemptible persons were
subjected to ostracism, until at last, after the ostracism of
Hyperbolus the practice was discontinued. The ostracism of Hyperbolus
is said to have been brought about in the following manner. Alkibiades
and Nikias, the two most powerful citizens in the state, were at the
head of two rival parties. The people determined to apply the
ostracism to them, and would certainly have banished one or the other
of them. They, however, came to terms with one another, combined their
several factions, and agreed to have Hyperbolus banished. The people,
enraged at this, and thinking that they had been treated with
contempt, abolished the practice of ostracism. The way in which it was
conducted was as follows. Each man took an oyster-shell, wrote upon it
the name of the citizen whom he wished to be banished, and then
carried it to a place in the market-place which was fenced off with
palings. The archons now first of all counted the whole number of
shells; for if the whole number of voters were less than six thousand,
the ostracism was null and void. After this, they counted the number
of times each name occurred, and that man against whom most votes were
recorded they sent into exile for ten years, allowing him the use of
his property during that time. Now while the shells were being written
upon, on the occasion of which we have been speaking, a very ignorant
country fellow is said to have brought his shell to Aristeides, who
was one of the bystanders, and to have asked him to write upon it the
name of Aristeides. Aristeides was surprised, and asked him whether
Aristeides had ever done him any harm. "No," answered the man, "nor do
I know him by sight, but I am tired of always hearing him called 'The
Just.'" When Aristeides heard this he made no answer, but wrote his
name on the man's shell and gave it back to him. When he was leaving
the city he raised his hands to heaven, and prayed exactly the
opposite prayer to that of Achilles, that no crisis might befall the
Athenians which would compel them to remember Aristeides.
VIII. However, three years afterwards, when Xerxes was advancing upon
Attica through Thessaly and Bœotia, the Athenians annulled their
decree, and permitted all exiles to return, being especially afraid of
Aristeides, lest he should join the enemy and lead many of the
citizens to desert with him. In this they took a very false view of
his character, for even before this decree he had never ceased to
encourage the Greeks to defend their liberty, and after his return,
when Themistokles was in sole command of the forces of Athens, he
assisted him in every way by word and deed, cheerfully raising his
bitterest enemy to the highest position in the state, because the
state was benefited thereby.
When Eurybiades and his party were meditating a retreat from Salamis,
the Persian ships put to sea at night and hemmed them in, surrounding
both the strait and the islands. No one knew that escape was
impossible, but Aristeides sailed from Ægina, passed safely through
the enemy's fleet by a miracle, and while it was still night proceeded
straight to the tent of Themistokles. Here he called him out, and when
they were alone together, he said: "We two, Themistokles, if we are
wise, must cease our vain and silly rivalry with one another, and
begin a more generous contest to preserve our country, you acting as
general and chief, while I help and advise you. Already I perceive
that you alone take a right view of the crisis, end desire to fight a
battle in the narrow waters as quickly as possible. Now, while your
allies have been opposing you, the enemy have been playing your game,
for the sea, both in our front and rear, is full of their ships, so
that the Greeks even against their will must play the man and fight;
for no way of escape is left for them." To this Themistokles answered,
"I would not willingly, Aristeides, be overcome by you in generosity
on this occasion; and I shall endeavour, in emulation of this good
beginning which you have made, to surpass it by the glory of my
exploits." At the same time he explained the trick[20] which he had
played on the barbarian, and begged Aristeides to argue with
Eurybiades, and point out how impossible it was for the Greeks to be
saved without fighting; for he thought that the opinion of Aristeides
would have more weight than his own. Consequently, when in the
assembly of the generals Kleokritus the Corinthian attacked
Themistokles, and said that even Aristeides did not approve of his
plans, because he was present and said nothing, Aristeides answered
that he would not have been silent if Themistokles had not spoken to
the purpose, but that as it was he held his peace, not for any love he
bore him, but because his counsel was the best.
IX. While the Greek admirals were engaged in these discussions,
Aristeides, perceiving that Psyttaleia, a small island in the straits
near Salamis, was full of the enemy, placed some of the boldest
Athenians on board of small boats, attacked the Persians, and slew
them to a man, except a few of the chiefs, who wore taken alive. Among
these were the three children of Sandauke the sister of the Persian
king, whom he at once sent to Themistokles, and it is said that in
accordance with some oracle they were sacrificed to Dionysus
Omestes,[21] at the instance of the prophet Euphrantides. Aristeides
now lined the shores of the islet with soldiers, ready to receive any
vessel which might be cast upon it, in order that neither any of his
friends might be lost, nor any of the enemy take refuge upon it.
Indeed, the severest encounter between the two fleets and the main
shock of the battle seems to have taken place at that spot; wherefore
the trophy that marks the victory stands on the isle of Psyttaleia.
After the battle was won, Themistokles, wishing to feel Aristeides's
opinion, said to him that they had done a good work, but that a
greater one remained, which was to shut up Asia in Europe by sailing
as quickly as possible to the Hellespont, and destroying the bridge of
boats there. Aristeides answered that he must never propose such a
plan, but must take measures to drive the Persians out of Greece as
quickly as possible, for fear that so great a multitude, shut up there
without the means of retreat, should turn to bay and attack them with
the courage of despair. Upon this, Themistokles again sent the eunuch
Arnakes, a prisoner, on a secret errand to tell the Persian king that
when all the Greeks wished to sail to the Hellespont and destroy the
bridge of boats, he had dissuaded them from doing so, wishing to save
the king's life.
X. At this Xerxes became terrified, and at once hurried back to the
Hellespont. Mardonius, with about three hundred thousand of the best
troops remained behind, and was a formidable enemy, trusting in his
land force, and sending defiant proclamations to the Greeks. "You," he
said, "with your ships have beaten landsmen that knew not how to
handle an oar; but the land of Thessaly is wide, and the plain of
Bœotia is a fair place for good horsemen and heavy armed soldiers to
fight upon."
To the Athenians he sent privately proposals from the Great King, who
offered to rebuild their city, present them with a large sum of money,
and make them lords over all Greece, if they would desist from the
war. The Lacedæmonians, hearing this, were much alarmed, and sent
ambassadors to beg the Athenians to send their wives and children to
Sparta, and offering to support their old people, as the Athenians
were in great distress for food, having lost their city and their
country. However, after listening to the Lacedæmonian ambassadors, at
the instance of Aristeides they returned a spirited answer, saying
that they could forgive their enemies, who knew no better, for
supposing that everything could be bought with money, but that they
were angry with the Lacedæmonians for only regarding the present
poverty and distress of the Athenians, and that forgetting how
bravely they had fought, they should now offer them food to bribe them
to fight for Greece. Having passed this motion Aristeides called the
ambassadors back into the assembly, and bade them tell the
Lacedæmonians that there was not as much gold in the world, either
above or under-ground, as the Athenians would require to tempt them to
betray Greece.
In answer to the herald sent from Mardonius he pointed to the sun, and
said: "As long as yonder sun shall continue its course the Athenians
will be enemies to the Persians, because of their ravaged lands and
desecrated temples." Further, he made the priests imprecate curses on
any one who had dealings with the Persians or deserted the Greek
cause.
When Mardonius invaded Attica a second time, the Athenians again took
refuge in Salamis. Aristeides was sent to Lacedæmon and upbraided the
Spartans with their slowness and indifference, for allowing the enemy
to take Athens a second time, and begged them to help what remained of
Greece. The Ephors, on hearing this, pretended to pass the rest of the
day in feasting and idleness, for it was the festival of the
Hyacinthia; but at nightfall they chose five thousand Spartans, each
attended by seven Helots, and sent them off without the knowledge of
the Athenian embassy. So when Aristeides next day resumed his
reproachful strain, they answered with mocking laughter, that he was
talking nonsense and was asleep, for that the army was by this time at
the tomb of Orestes in its march against the strangers[22] (by
strangers they meant the Persians). To this Aristeides answered that
it was a sorry jest to have deceived their friends instead of their
enemies. These particulars are related by Idomeneus, but in the decree
of Aristeides for sending ambassadors it is not his name, but those of
Kimon, Xanthippus, and Myronides that are mentioned.
XI. He was elected general with unlimited powers, and proceeded to
Platæa with eight thousand Athenians. Here he was met by Pausanias,
the commander-in-chief of the Greek forces, with the Spartan
contingent, and the rest of the Greek troops joined them there. The
Persian army was encamped along the course of the river Asopus. On
account of its enormous size it was not contained in a fortified camp,
but a quadrangular wall was constructed round the baggage and most
valuable material. Each side of this square was ten furlongs in
length.
Tisamenus of Elis, the prophet, now told Pausanias and all the Greeks
that they would win the victory if they stood on the defensive and did
not attack. Aristeides sent to Delphi, and received a response from
the oracle, that the Athenians would conquer if they prayed to Zeus,
to Hera of Kithæron, and to Pan and the nymphs Sphragitides, and if
they sacrificed to the heroes Androkrates, Leukon, Peisander,
Damokrates, Hypsion, Aktaion, and Polyïdus, and if they would fight in
their own territory, in the plain of Demeter of Eleusis and her
daughter.
This oracle greatly disturbed Aristeides. The heroes to whom he was
bidden to sacrifice are the original founders of the city of Platæa,
and the cave of the nymphs called Sphragitides, is on one of the peaks
of Kithæron, looking towards the point where the sun sets in summer.
It is said that there was formerly an oracle there, and that many of
the people became possessed, and were called "nympholeptæ." But as to
the plain of the Eleusinian Demeter, and the promise of victory to the
Athenians if they fought in their own country, this meant no less than
to recall them to Attica and forbid their taking any further part in
the war. Whilst Aristeides was thus perplexed, Arimnestus, the general
of the Platæans, saw a vision in his sleep. In his dreams he thought
that Zeus the Preserver appeared and enquired of him what the Greeks
had decided to do, and that he answered, "Lord, to-morrow we shall
lead away the army to Eleusis, and fight the Persians there, according
to the oracle." Upon this the god answered, that they had missed the
meaning of the oracle, for the places mentioned were near Platæa,
where they themselves were encamped, and if they sought they would
find them. Arimnestus, after this distinct vision, awoke. He at once
sent for the oldest and most learned of the citizens of Platæa, and
after debating the matter with them, discovered that near Hysiæ,
under Mount Kithæron, stood a very ancient temple, dedicated to the
Eleusinian Demeter and her daughter. He immediately took Aristeides
with him and proceeded to the spot, which was excellently placed for
the array of an infantry force in the presence of an overwhelming
cavalry, because the spurs of Mount Kithæron, where they run down into
the plain by the temple, render the ground impassable for cavalry.
Close by is the chapel of the hero Androkrates, in the midst of a
thick matted grove of trees. In order, however, that the oracle might
in no way be defective in its promise of victory, Arimnestus proposed,
and the Platæans decreed, that the boundary marks of their territory
on the side towards Attica should be removed, and the country given to
the Athenians, so that they might fight in their own land for Greece,
according to the oracle. This noble act of the Platæans became so
famous in later times, that, many years afterwards, Alexander the
Great himself, when he had conquered all Asia, caused the walls of
Platæa to be rebuilt, and made proclamation at the Olympian games by a
herald, "that the king bestowed this honour upon the Platæans in
memory of their magnanimous conduct in giving up their territory, and
venturing their lives on behalf of the Greeks in the Persian war."
XII. A controversy arose between the Athenians and the men of Tegea
about their respective places in the line of battle. The Tegeans
argued that if the Lacedæmonians had the right wing, they ought to be
posted on the left; and they spoke at great length about the
achievements of their ancestors, as entitling them to that honour. The
Athenians were vexed at their pretensions, but Aristeides said: "The
present time is not suitable for disputing with the Tegeans about
bravery; but to you, men of Sparta, and to the rest of the Greeks, we
say that a particular post neither confers courage nor takes it away,
but, that in whatever part of the line you may think fit to place us,
we will endeavour so to array our ranks and fight the enemy as not to
impair the honour which we have gained in former battles. We did not
come hither to quarrel with our allies, but to fight the enemy; not to
boast about our ancestors, but to fight bravely for Greece. The
coming struggle will clearly show to all the Greeks the real worth and
value of each city, each general, and each single citizen." When the
council of generals heard this speech, they allowed the claim of the
Athenians, and gave up the left wing to them.
XIII. While the cause of Greece was thus trembling in the balance, and
Athens was especially in danger, certain Athenians of noble birth, who
had lost their former wealth during the war, and with it their
influence in the city, being unable to bear to see others exalted at
their expense, met in secret in a house in Platæa and entered into a
plot to overturn the free constitution of Athens. If they could not
succeed in this, they pledged themselves to ruin, the city and betray
it to the Persians. While these men were plotting in the camp, and
bringing many over to their side, Aristeides discovered the whole
conspiracy. Afraid at such a crisis to take any decisive step, he
determined, while carefully watching the conspirators, yet not at once
to seize them all, not knowing how far he might have to proceed if he
acted according to strict justice. From all the conspirators he
arrested eight. Two of these, who would have been the first to be put
on their trial, Æschines of Lampra, and Agesias of Acharna, made their
escape out of the camp, and Aristeides pardoned the others, as he
wished to give an opportunity to those who believed themselves
unsuspected, to take courage and repent. He also hinted to them that
the war afforded them a means of clearing themselves from any
suspicion of disloyalty by fighting for their country like good men
and true.
XIV. After this, Mardonius made trial of Grecian courage, by sending
the whole of his cavalry, in which he was much the stronger, to attack
them where they were, all except the Megarians, encamped at the foot
of Mount Kithæron, in an easily-defended rocky country. These men,
three thousand in number, were encamped nearer the plain, and suffered
much from the attacks of the horsemen, who surrounded them on all
sides. They sent a messenger in great haste to Pausanias, begging him
to send assistance, as they could not by themselves resist the great
numbers of the barbarians. Pausanias, hearing this, and seeing the
camp of the Megarians overwhelmed with darts and arrows, while the
defenders were huddled together in a narrow compass, knew not what to
do. He did not venture to attack cavalry with the heavy-armed
Lacedæmonian infantry, but offered it as an opportunity for winning
praise and honour, to the generals who were with him, that they should
volunteer to go to help the Megarians in their extremity. All
hesitated, but Aristeides claimed the honour for the Athenians, and
sent the bravest of his captains, Olympiodorus, with three hundred
picked men, besides some archers. As they quickly got into array and
charged at a run, Masistius, the leader of the enemy, a man of great
bodily strength and beauty, seeing them, wheeled round his horse, and
rode to attack them. They sustained his attack and closed with his
horsemen, and a sharp struggle took place, both parties fighting as
though the issue of the war depended on their exertions. The horse of
Masistius was at length wounded by an arrow and threw his rider.
Encumbered by his armour, Masistius was too heavy for his own men to
carry him away, but also was protected by it from the stabs of the
Athenians who fell upon him, for not only his head and breast, but his
limbs also were protected by brass and iron. Some one, however, drove
the spike at the lower end of his spear through the eye-hole of the
helmet, and then the rest of the Persians abandoned the body and fled.
The Greeks discovered the importance of their exploit, not from the
number of the dead, for but few had fallen, but from the lamentations
of the enemy. They cut off their own hair, and the manes of their
horses and mules, in sign of mourning for Masistius, and filled the
whole plain with weeping and wailing, having lost a man who for
courage and high position, was second only to Mardonius himself.
XV. After this cavalry action, both the parties remained quiet for a
long time, for the soothsayers foretold victory both to the Greeks and
to the Persians if they fought in self-defence, but foretold defeat if
they attacked. At length Mardonius, as he only had provisions for a
few days longer, and as the Greek army kept growing stronger by the
continual reinforcements which it received, determined, sorely
against his will, to delay no longer, but to cross the Asopus at
daybreak and fall upon the Greeks unexpectedly. In the evening he gave
orders to his captains to this effect. About midnight a solitary
horseman rode up straight to the Greek camp. He bade the guard send
for Aristeides the Athenian, who was at once brought, when the
stranger spoke as follows:
"I am Alexander of Macedon, and I have come hither at the
greatest risk to myself to do you a service, for fear you should
be taken by surprise. Mardonius will attack to-morrow, not
because he has any new hope of success, but because he is
destitute of provisions, although the soothsayers all forbid him
to fight because the sacrifices and oracles are unfavourable, and
the army is disheartened. Thus he is forced to put all on a
venture, or else to starve if he remains quiet." When he had said
this, Alexander begged Aristeides to keep the secret to himself,
and communicate it to no one else. Aristeides, however, answered
that it would not be right for him to conceal it from Pausanias,
who was commander-in-chief. Before the battle he said that he
would keep it secret from every one else, but that if Greece was
victorious, all men then should know the good service so bravely
rendered by Alexander. After these words the king of Macedon rode
away, and Aristeides, proceeding to the tent of Pausanias, told
him the whole matter; they then sent for the other generals, and
ordered them to keep the troops under arms, as a battle was
expected.
XVI. At this time, Herodotus tells us, Pausanias asked Aristeides to
remove the Athenians from the left to the right wing, so as to be
opposite to the native Persian troops, on the ground that they would
be better able to contend with them, because they understood their
mode of fighting, and were confident because they had beaten them once
before, while he with the Spartans would take the left wing of the
army, where he would be opposed to those Greeks who had taken the
Persian side. Most of the Athenian generals thought this a silly and
insolent proceeding of Pausanias, that he should leave all the other
Greeks in their place, and march them backwards and forward like
helots, only to place them opposite the bravest troops of the enemy.
Aristeides, however, said that they were entirely mistaken, for a few
days before they had been wrangling with the Tegeans for the honour of
being posted on the left wing, and had been delighted when they
obtained it; but now, when the Lacedæmonians of their own free will
yielded the right wing to them, and in some sort offered them the post
of honour in the whole army, they were not delighted at it, and did
not consider what an advantage it was to have to fight against foreign
barbarians, and not against men of their own race and nation. After
these words, the Athenians cheerfully exchanged places with the
Lacedæmonians, and much talk went on among them as each man reminded
his comrades that the Persians who would come to attack them were no
braver, nor better armed than those whom they had defeated at
Marathon, but that they had the same bows and arrows, the same
embroidered robes and gold ornaments on their effeminate bodies, while
we, they said, have arms and bodies such as we had then, and greater
confidence because of our victories. We also fight, not merely as
other Greeks do, in defence of our city and territory, but for the
trophies of Marathon and Salamis, lest the battle of Marathon should
be thought to have been won more by Miltiades and Fortune, than by the
valour of the Athenians. With such encouraging talk as this the
Athenians took up their new position; but the Thebans discovered what
had been done from deserters and told Mardonius. He at once, either
from fear of the Athenians, or from a chivalrous wish to fight the
Spartans himself, led the native Persian troops to his right wing, and
ordered the renegade Greeks to take ground opposite the Athenians.
When these changes were being observed, Pausanias returned to his
original position on the right. Mardonius then returned to the left as
before, and the day passed without an engagement. The Greeks now
determined in a council of war, to remove their camp to a place
farther away and better supplied with water, because they were
prevented from using the springs near where they were by the enemy's
great superiority in cavalry.
XVII. When night fell the generals began to lead the army to the place
selected for a new camp. The soldiers were very unwilling to follow
them thither and keep together in a body, but as soon as they quitted
their first entrenchments, most of them made for the city of Platæa;
and there was much confusion as they wandered about and pitched their
tents here and there. The Lacedæmonians, much against their will,
chanced to be left behind, and quite separated from the rest. One
Amompharetus, a spirited and daring man, who had long been eager to
fight, and chafed much at the long delays and countermarches which had
taken place, now cried aloud that this change of position was no
better than a cowardly flight. He refused to leave his post, and said
that he and his company would stand where they were, and withstand
Mardonius alone. When Pausanias came and assured him that the Greeks
in council had decided upon this measure, Amompharetus heaved up a
huge stone with both his hands and flinging it down at the feet of
Pausanias, said, "With this pebble I give my vote for battle, and for
disregarding the cowardly counsels of other Greeks." Pausanias, not
knowing what to do, sent to the Athenians, who were already on the
march, begging them to wait and support them, while he set off with
the rest of the Spartans in the direction of Platæa, hoping thus to
make Amompharetus move.
While these movements were being executed day broke, and Mardonius,
who had perceived that the Greeks were leaving their camp, at once
marched in order of battle to attack the Lacedæmonians, the Persians
shouting and clattering their arms as though they were not going to
fight, but to destroy the Greeks as they retreated, which indeed they
very nearly succeeded in doing; for Pausanias, when he saw what was
taking place, halted his own men, and placed them in battle array, but
either because of his anger at Amompharetus, or his excitement at the
suddenness of the attack, forgot to send any orders to the main body
of the Greeks.
For this reason they came up not in a regular body, but straggling,
and after the Lacedæmonians wore already engaged. Pausanias was busy
sacrificing to the gods, and as the sacrifices were unfavourable, he
ordered the Lacedæmonians to hold their shields quietly rested on the
ground at their feet and await his orders, without attempting any
resistance, while he sacrificed again. The enemy's cavalry was now
close at hand, their arrows reached the Lacedæmonians and killed
several of them. It was at this moment that Kallikrates, the tallest
and handsomest man in the whole Greek army, is said to have been
mortally wounded by an arrow. When dying, he said that he did not
lament his death, for he left his home meaning to lay down his life
for Greece, but that he was grieved that he had never exchanged blows
with the enemy before he died. At this time the Lacedæmonians were
offering no resistance to the assaults of the enemy, but were standing
still in their ranks, shot at by the arrows of the enemy, awaiting the
time when it should be the will of the gods and their general that
they should fight. Some writers tell us that while Pausanias was
offering sacrifice and prayer a little beyond the ranks, some Lydians
suddenly fell upon him, and began to plunder the sacrificial vessels,
but that Pausanias, and those with him, having no arms, drove them
away with sticks and whips; in memory of which they beat young men on
the altar at Sparta at the present day, and afterwards lead what is
called the Lydian procession.
XVIII. Pausanias was deeply grieved at what was taking place, seeing
the priests offering sacrifice after sacrifice, not one of which
pleased the gods; at last he turned his eyes towards the temple of
Hera and wept. Holding up his hands he besought Hera of Mount Kithæron
and all the other gods of the land of Platæa that if it were not the
will of the gods that the Greeks should conquer, they might at any
rate do some valorous deed before they died, and let their conquerors
know that they had fought with brave and experienced warriors. When
Pausanias prayed thus, the sacrifices at once became favourable and
the soothsayers prophesied victory. The word was given to sot
themselves in order of battle, and then at once the Lacedæmonian force
resembled some fierce beast turning to bay and setting up his
bristles, while the barbarians saw that they had to deal with men who
were prepared to fight to the death. Wherefore they set up their great
wicker shields in front of them, and from this shelter shot their
arrows at the Lacedæmonians. But the latter advanced without breaking
their ranks, overturned the line of wicker shields, and with, terrible
thrusts of their spears at the faces and breasts of the Persians, laid
many of them low by their fierce and well-disciplined charge. The
Persians too fought bravely, and resisted for a long while, laying
hold of the spears with their bare hands and breaking most of them in
that manner, fighting hand to hand, with their scimitars and axes, and
tearing the Lacedæmonians' shields out of their hands by force.
Meanwhile the Athenians had for a long time stood quietly awaiting the
Lacedæmonians. When, however, they heard the shouting and noise of the
battle, and a messenger, it is said, reached them from Pausanias, they
marched with all speed to help him. As they were hurrying over the
plain to where the shouts were heard, the Greeks who had taken the
Persian side attacked them. At first when Aristeides saw them, he ran
out far before the rest and besought them in a loud voice in the name
of the gods of Greece not to hinder the Athenians when they were going
to assist those who were venturing their lives on behalf of Greece.
But when he saw that they took no notice of his appeal, he no longer
attempted to help the Lacedæmonians, but attacked these troops, who
numbered about fifty thousand. Of these the greater part gave way at
once and retreated, because they saw their barbarian allies
retreating, but a fierce battle is said to have raged where the
Thebans were, because the best and noblest men of that state had
eagerly taken the Persian side from the beginning, while the common
people followed them, not of their free will, but being accustomed to
obey the nobles.
XIX. Thus was the battle divided into two parts. The Lacedæmonians
were the first to rout the Persians. A Spartan, named Arimnestus,
killed Mardonius by a blow on the head with a stone, as the oracle in
the temple of Amphiaraus had foretold to him. For Mardonius sent a
Lydian thither, and another man, a Karian, to the oracle in the cave
of Trophonius. This latter was spoken to in the Karian language by the
prophet, but the other slept in the sacred enclosure round the temple
of Amphiaraus, and in his dreams saw a servant of the god standing
beside him and bidding him begone. When he refused to go, the figure
cast a great stone at his head, so that he dreamed that he died of the
stroke. This is the story which is told of Mardonius. The Persian
fugitives were now driven to take shelter within their wooden
fortification. Shortly after these events took place, the Athenians
defeated the Thebans, who lost three hundred of their noblest citizens
in that battle. After this there came a messenger to them, telling
them that the Persians were being besieged in their fortified camp.
Hearing this, the Athenians allowed the renegade Greeks to escape, and
marched at once to the assault of the camp. Here they found the
Lacedæmonians, who were not pressing the enemy, because they had no
experience in sieges and attacks on fortified places. The Athenians
forced their way in and took the camp with an immense slaughter of the
enemy. It is said that out of three hundred thousand only forty
thousand under Artabazus escaped. On the side of the Greeks fell only
thirteen hundred and sixty men. Of these there were fifty-two
Athenians of the Aiantid tribe,[23] which, we are told by Kleidemus,
distinguished itself beyond all others on that day. For this reason,
the Aiantid tribe offered the sacrifice to the nymphs Sphragitides,
ordered by the oracle for the victory, at the public expense. Of the
Lacedæmonians, there fell ninety-one, and of the Tegeans sixteen. It
is hard, therefore, to understand Herodotus when he says that these
alone came to blows with the enemy, and that no other Greeks were
engaged at all; for both the number of the slain and the tombs of the
fallen prove that the victory was won by all the Greeks together. If
only three cities had fought, and the rest had done nothing, they
never would have inscribed on the altar:
"The Greeks in battle drove the Persian forth
By force of arms, and bravely Greece set free,
To Zeus Protector they this altar reared,
Where all might thank him for their victory."
This battle was fought on the day of the month Boedromion, according
to the Athenian calendar; and on the twenty-sixth of the month Panemus
according to that of the Bœotians, on which day the Hellenic meeting
still takes place at Platæa, and sacrifice is offered to Zeus, the
Protector of Liberty, in memory of this victory. The discrepancy of
the dates is no marvel, seeing that even at the present day, when
astronomy is more accurately understood, different cities still begin
and end their months on different days.
XX. After the battle, as the Athenians would not assign the prize of
valour[24] to the Lacedæmonians, nor suffer them to set up a trophy,
the common cause of Greece was within a little of being ruined by the
quarrels of the two armies, had not Aristeides by argument and
entreaty prevailed upon his colleagues, especially Leokrates and
Myronides, to submit the dispute to the decision of all the Greeks.
Upon this a council was held, at which Theogeiton of Megara said that
the prize for valour ought to be given to another city, and not either
to Athens or Sparta, if they did not wish to bring about a civil war.
To this Kleokritus of Corinth made answer. All men expected that he
would demand the honour for Corinth, which city had acquitted itself
best, next to Athens and Sparta; but he made a very excellent and
conciliatory speech, demanding that the prize should be bestowed on
the Platæans, by which means neither of the claimants would be
aggrieved. This proposal was agreed to by Aristeides on behalf of the
Athenians, and by Pausanias on behalf of the Lacedæmonians. Having
thus settled their differences, they set apart from the plunder eighty
talents for the Platæans, with which they built the temple of Athena,
and the shrine, and also decorated the temple with paintings, which
even to this present day retain their lustre. The Lacedæmonians set up
a trophy for themselves, and the Athenians another one apart. When
they enquired at Delphi what sacrifice was to be offered, the oracle
bade them set up an altar to Zeus the Protector of the Free, and not
to sacrifice upon it until they had first put out all fires throughout
the country, because it had been defiled by the presence of the
barbarian, and had then fetched a new fire pure from pollution, from
the hearth at Delphi, which is common to all Greece. The chiefs of the
Greeks at once proceeded throughout the Platæan territory, forcing
every one to extinguish his fire, even in the case of funeral piles,
while Euchidas of Platæa, who promised that he would fetch fire as
quickly as possible, proceeded to Delphi. There he purified his body,
and having been besprinkled with holy water and crowned with laurel,
took fire from the altar, set off running back to Platæa, and arrived
there about sunset, having run a distance of a hundred and twenty-five
miles in one day. He embraced his fellow citizens, handed the fire to
them, fell down, and in a few moments died. The Platæans, to show
their admiration of him, buried him in the temple of Artemis Eukleia,
with this inscription on his tomb:
"Euchidas ran to Delphi and back again in one day."
As for Eukleia, most persons believe her to be Artemis, and worship
her as that goddess; but some say that she was a daughter of Herakles
and Myrto, the daughter of Menœtius, who was the sister of Patroklus,
and who, dying a virgin, is worshipped by the Bœotians and Lokrians.
An altar and image of her stands in every market-place in these
countries, and those who are about to marry, sacrifice to her.
XXI. After this Aristeides proposed at a general assembly of all the
Greeks, that all the cities of Greece should every year send deputies
and religious representatives to the city of Platæa, and that every
fifth year Eleutheria, or a festival in honour of Freedom, should be
celebrated there. Also he proposed that there should be a general levy
throughout Greece, for the war against the Persians, of ten thousand
heavy armed troops, a thousand horse, and a hundred ships of war; and
that the Platæans should be held inviolable, and consecrated to the
service of the gods, to whom they offered sacrifice on behalf of all
Greece. These things were ratified, and the people of Platæa undertook
to make yearly sacrifices in honour of those who had fallen fighting
for Greece, and whose bodies were buried there. This they perform
even at the present day in the following fashion. On the sixteenth day
of the month Maimakterion, which in the Bœotian calendar is called
Alalkomenius, they make a procession headed by a trumpeter sounding
the charge. After him follow waggons full of myrtle and garlands of
flowers, a black bull, libations of wine and milk in jars, and
earthenware vessels full of oil and perfume. These are carried by
young men of noble birth, for no slave is allowed to take any part in
the proceedings, because the men in whose honour the sacrifice is
made, died fighting for liberty. Last of all comes the chief
magistrate of Platæa, who, during the rest of his term of office, is
not allowed to touch iron, or to wear clothes of any colour but white.
On this day, however, he wears a scarlet tunic, takes an urn[25] from
the public record office in one hand, and a sword in the other, and
proceeds through the middle of the city to the sepulchres. There he
with his own hands draws water from the well, washes the head-stones
of the graves, and anoints them with oil. After this he cuts the
throat of the bull, places his bones on a funeral pile, and with
prayer to Zeus, and Hermes who conducts men's souls into the nether
world, he calls on the brave men who died for Greece, to come to the
feast and drink the libations of blood. Next he mixes a large bowl of
wine and water, pours out a cup for himself, and says, "I drink to
those who died in defence of the freedom of Greece." This custom is
observed even to this day by the Platæans.
XXII. After the return of the Athenians to their own city, Aristeides
observed that they desired to adopt a democratic form of government.
As he considered that the people had by their bravery deserved a share
in the management of affairs, and likewise thought that it would be
hard to turn them from their purpose as they had arms in their hands,
and were confident in their strength because of the victories which
they had won, he carried a decree that every citizen should have a
share in the government, and that the archons should be chosen out of
the whole body of Athenians.
When Themistokles told the Athenian assembly that he had in his mind a
proposition most valuable to the state, which nevertheless could not
be openly discussed, the people bade Aristeides alone listen to what
it was and give his opinion upon it. Then Themistokles told
Aristeides, that he meditated burning the entire fleet of the Greeks,
as they lay drawn up on the beach, as by this means Athens would
become the greatest state in Greece, and mistress of all the others.
Aristeides, on hearing this, came forward to the assembly and said
that the proposal of Themistokles, although most advantageous, was yet
most wicked and unjust. When the people heard this, they forbade
Themistokles to prosecute his design. So highly did the Athenians
prize justice, and so well and faithfully did Aristeides serve them.
XXIII. Being sent as general, with Kimon as his colleague, to the war
with Persia, he perceived that Pausanias and the other Spartan
generals were harsh and insolent to their allies; and he himself, by
treating them with kindness and consideration, aided by the gentle and
kindly temper shown by Kimon in the campaign, gradually obtained
supreme authority over them, not having won it by arms or fleets, but
by courtesy and wise policy. The Athenians, already beloved by the
Greeks, on account of the justice of Aristeides and the kindliness of
Kimon, were much more endeared to them by the insolent brutality of
Pausanias, who always spoke roughly and angrily to the chiefs of the
various contingents of allies, and used to punish the common men by
stripes, or by forcing them to stand all day with a heavy iron anchor
on their shoulders. No one was permitted to obtain straw or forage for
their horses, or to draw water from a well before the Spartans had
helped themselves, and servants were placed with whips to drive away
any who attempted to do so. Aristeides once endeavoured to complain of
this to Pausanias, but he knitting his brows, rudely told him that he
was not at leisure, and took no notice of his words. At this the
generals and admirals of the Greek states, especially those from
Chios, Samos, and Lesbos, besought Aristeides to make himself
commander-in-chief, and rally round him all the allied cities, who had
long desired to get rid of the Spartan supremacy and to take the side
of Athens. He answered that he admitted the justice and even the
necessity of their proposals, but that they must prove themselves to
be in earnest by some act which would make it impossible for the great
body of them to draw back. Upon this, Ouliades of Samos, and Antagoras
of Chios conspired together, and off Byzantium, they ran on board of
the ship of Pausanias, which was sailing before the rest. He on seeing
this, rose up in a rage and threatened that in a short time he would
let them know that they had not endangered his ship, but their own
native cities. They in answer bade him go his way and be thankful for
the victory at Platæa won under his command, for that it was which
alone restrained the Greeks from dealing with him as he deserved.
Finally they left him, and sailed away to join the Athenian ships. On
this occasion the magnanimous conduct of the Lacedæmonians deserves
high praise. When they perceived that the heads of their generals were
being turned by the greatness of their power, they of their own accord
withdrew from the supreme power, and no longer sent any generals to
the wars, choosing rather to have moderate citizens who would abide by
their laws at home, than to bear rule over the whole of Greece.
Even while the Lacedæmonians remained in command, the Greeks paid a
certain contribution to pay the expenses of the war; and as they
wished each city to be assessed to pay a reasonable sum, they asked
the Athenians to appoint Aristeides to visit each city, learn the
extent of its territory and revenues, and fix upon the amount which
each was capable of contributing according to its means. Although he
was in possession of such a power as this--the whole of Greece having
as it were given itself up to be dealt with at his discretion--yet he
laid down his office a poorer man than when he accepted it, but having
completed his assessment to the satisfaction of all. As the ancients
used to tell of the blessedness of the golden age, even so did the
states of Greece honour the assessment made by Aristeides, calling the
time when it was made, fortunate and blessed for Greece, especially
when no long time afterwards it was doubled, and subsequently trebled.
The money which Aristeides proposed to raise amounted to four hundred
and sixty talents; to which Perikles added nearly a third part, for
Thucydides tells us that at the commencement of the Peloponnesian war,
the Athenians received six hundred talents a year from their allies.
After the death of Perikles, the popular orators gradually raised the
sum total to thirteen hundred talents. It was not so much that the
money was required for the expenses of a long and costly war, as that
these men had accustomed the people to largesses of money, dramatic
representations, and the erection of statues and temples. Themistokles
was the only man who had sneered at the great reputation which
Aristeides had won by his assessment of the Greek states, saying that
the praise which was lavished on him was not suitable to a man, but to
a chest which kept money safe. This he said as a retort to a saying of
Aristeides, who once, when Themistokles said that he thought it the
most valuable quality for a general to be able to divine beforehand
what the enemy would do, answered, "That, Themistokles, is very true,
but it is also the part of an honourable general to keep his hands
clean."
XXV. Aristeides, moreover, bound all the Greeks by an oath to keep the
league against the Persians, and himself swore on behalf of Athens,
throwing wedges of red hot iron into the sea after the oath was taken,
and praying that the gods might so deal with those that broke their
faith. But afterwards, when circumstances forced the Athenians to
govern with a stronger hand, he bade the Athenians act as they
pleased, for he would take upon himself any guilt of perjury which
they might incur. And throughout his life Theophrastus observes that
Aristeides, though scrupulously just in his dealings with his
fellow-citizens, yet sometimes in dealing with other states was guided
rather by advantage than by equity. For instance, when the Athenians
were debating a proposal of the Samians, that the treasure of the
league should be removed from Delos to Athens, a thing distinctly
contrary to the articles of the alliance, Aristeides said that it was
not just, but that it was expedient to do so. He himself, at the end
of his life, after raising his city to be the ruler of so many people,
remained in his original poverty, and took no less pride in his
poverty than in the victories which he had won. This is proved by the
following anecdote. Kallias, the torch-bearer in the Eleusinian
mysteries, a relation of his, was being prosecuted on a capital charge
by his private enemies. After speaking with great moderation upon the
subject of the indictment, they used the following argument to the
jury: "Gentlemen, you all know Aristeides the son of Lysimachus, whose
name is renowned throughout Greece. How think you that man fares at
home, when you see him appearing in public with such a worn-out cloak?
May we not suppose when we see him shivering out of doors, that he has
but little to eat at home, and is in want of common necessaries? Yet
Kallias, the richest man in Athens, allows this man, who is his own
cousin, to be in want, he and his wife and children, though he has
often benefited by him and profited by his influence with you."
Kallias, perceiving that the jury were especially wrought upon by this
appeal and that it was likely to tell against him, called Aristeides
into the court, and begged of him to bear witness to the jury that
although he had often offered him money and begged him to accept it he
had always refused, answering that he prided himself more upon his
poverty than Kallias did upon his wealth; for one may see many persons
making both a good and a bad use of riches, but it is hard to meet
with a man who bears poverty with honour. Those only should be ashamed
of poverty who are poor against their wills. When Aristeides bore
witness to the truth of this, on behalf of Kallias, there was no one
who heard him but left the court wishing rather to be poor like
Aristeides than rich like Kallias. This story is preserved by
Æschines, the companion of Sokrates.
Plato considers that this man alone, of all the great men of Athens,
is worthy of mention by him. Themistokles, and Kimon, and Perikles,
did indeed fill the city with public buildings, and money, and folly,
but Aristeides in his political acts cared for nothing but virtue.
One great proof of this is his kindly treatment of Themistokles.
Though this man was his enemy throughout, and was the cause of his
banishment by ostracism, yet when Themistokles gave him an opportunity
of revenging himself in a similar manner he never remembered the
injuries which he had received at his hands, but while Kimon, and
Alkmæon, and many others, were endeavouring to drive him into exile
and bringing all kinds of accusations against him, Aristeides alone
never did or said anything against him, and did not rejoice over the
spectacle of his enemy's ruin, just as he never envied his previous
prosperity.
XXVI. Some writers say that Aristeides died in Pontus, to which
country he had been sent on matters of state: while others say that he
died of old age at Athens, respected and honoured by all his
countrymen there. Kraterus of Macedonia tells us the following
particulars about his end. After Themistokles went into exile the
common people grew insolent and produced a numerous brood of
informers, who constantly assailed the noblest and most powerful
citizens through envy of their prosperity and influence. One of these
men, Diophantus of Amphitrope by name, obtained a verdict against
Aristeides on a charge of receiving bribes. It was stated that when he
was regulating the assessment of the Ionians he received money from
them to tax them more lightly. As he was unable to pay the fine of
fifty minæ, which the court laid upon him, he left Athens and died
somewhere in Ionia. But Kraterus offers no documentary evidence of
this, neither of the sentence of his condemnation nor the decree of
the people, although in general it is his habit to quote his authority
for statements of this kind. And almost all others who have spoken of
the harsh treatment of generals by the people mention the banishment
of Themistokles, the imprisonment of Miltiades, the fine imposed on
Perikles, and the suicide of Paches in court when sentence was
pronounced against him, but although they speak of the banishment of
Aristeides, they never allude to this trial and sentence upon him.
XXVII. Moreover, there is his tomb at Phalerum, which is said to have
been constructed at the public expense, because he did not leave
enough money to defray his funeral expenses. It is also related that
his daughters were publicly married at the charges of the state, which
provided them each with a dowry of three thousand drachmas. At the
instance of Alkibiades, his son Lysimachus was also presented with a
hundred silver mines, and as many acres of planted land, and in
addition to this, an allowance of four drachmas a day. Kallisthenes
also tells us that this Lysimachus leaving a daughter named Polykrite,
she was assigned by the Athenians the same daily allowance of food as
is bestowed upon the victors in the Olympian games. But Demetrius of
Phalerum, Hieronymus of Rhodes, Aristoxenus the musician, and
Aristotle, (if we are to believe the 'Treatise on Nobility' to be a
genuine work of his) say, that Myrto, the granddaughter of Aristeides,
lived in the house of Sokrates the philosopher, who was indeed married
to another woman, but who took her into his house because she was a
widow and destitute of the necessaries of life. These authors are
sufficiently confuted by Panætius in his writings on Sokrates.
Demetrius of Phalerum says, in his book about Sokrates, that he knew
one Lysimachus, a very poor man, who dwelt near the Temple of Iacchus
and made his living by the interpretation of dreams. Demetrius further
states that he carried a bill before the Assembly by which this man's
mother and sister were provided with a pension of three obols daily at
the public expense. Demetrius, however, when himself a legislator,
appointed that each of these women should receive a drachma instead of
three obols a day. And we need not wonder at the people taking such
care of the resident citizens, when we read that, hearing that the
granddaughter of Aristogeiton was living in poverty at Lemnos, so poor
that no one would marry her, they brought her back to Athens, gave her
in marriage to a man of high birth, and bestowed upon her a farm at
Potamus for a marriage portion. The city of Athens has shown many
instances of this kindness and goodness of heart even down to our
times, and is justly praised and admired for it.